Insuring a lock-up garage

IanCT

I thought this would be simple but am struggling to find anything useful on the rest of the net so I thought I'd ask here.

I'm about to buy a lock up garage that used to be included in the deeds of a house round the corner until 2001 until the house was sold and the owner split the garage from the house and retained it.

It's an 'en bloc' garage and there is effectively a space outside that can be used for parking.

I'm not bothered about contents insurance particularly, but would like to get buildings insurance to cover it in case something severe happens like a fire (nothing to burn really) or a tree lands on it etc.

Online companies are wanting to insure homes, so online quotes are not possible, are there specific companies and policies for this type of property and is there a 'going rate' that's worth knowing before I settle for one?

Thanks,

Ian.

vaio

would adding it to your existing property make things easier?

One property, one buildings insurance policy

Impecunious_2

Did you ever find the answer? I'm in the same situation. I've just been speaking to my insurance company, who haven't been able to give a categorical answer. Whether it's covered by existing buildings insurance appears to hang on whether they choose to define "domestic garage" as "non-business use" or "within the physical curtilage of the dwelling house". The person I spoke to said they'd "probably" be able to insure it separately if it isn't covered by my house policy, and it would "probably" cost about £10 pa to do so, but he'd check with his manager and ring me back. He hasn't, of course.
Having it added to the deeds of the house, as Vaio suggests, might be the answer - but would incur more legal fees, and it might still fall foul of a "within the physical curtilage of the dwelling house" clause.
I'm beginning to wish I hadn't bothered!

mcjordi

could be worth a chat to a broker.. do you have an NFU branch nearby im sure they would cover it

Impecunious_2

Good thinking. I might give my local branch a bell when they open next week.
On the other hand, I might not. I've done a bit more research since last posting, and I'm beginning to think this garage could be a poison chalice. My mortgage lender tells me that their home insurance definitely wouldn't cover it, because it's discontiguous. Nor would they insure it as a separate building. Amalgamation of deeds is apparently expensive and, in the case of discontiguous buildings, not viewed favourably - and of course, domestic insurance companies would still balk because it's discontiguous.
My main reason for considering the purchase was that it might make my house easier to sell when the time comes (I currently have no dedicated parking, though I've never failed to park within spitting distance). But I live in a starter home, at the bottom of the property ladder - so any buyer is likely to be a first-timer struggling to find a mortgage, and any faffing around with two separate properties - one of which can only be insured as a commercial building - could very well be a deal-breaker. In fact, it might even not be mortgageable.
I think I've just talked myself out of it!